Leyla Aliyeva talks to Euronews about IDEA's enviromental protection efforts

The IDEA Public Union was established to respond to environmental challenges in Azerbaijan and around the world, Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of IDEA, said in an interview with Euronews, Report informs.

The news outlet prepared a feature on IDEA's activities in the fields of ecology, climate change, and biodiversity protection.

"From the very beginning, we understood that ecology is far more than saving individual species or fighting climate change. It is about our lifestyle, our culture, and how each of us impacts the environment," Aliyeva said. She noted that while many countries are losing protected areas, Azerbaijan continues to expand them. "In recent years, two new national parks have been opened, and others have been expanded."

Aliyeva added that the opening of the Karabakh National Park is expected next year, after which protected areas will cover about 30 percent of Azerbaijan's territory. She also highlighted the serious challenges facing the Caspian Sea, including falling water levels, pollution, and growing threats to marine life, such as the Caspian seal.

"This is a crisis that no country can solve alone. We must act together and value the Caspian as our shared natural heritage," she said. "I believe we have reached a point where ecology is no longer about words, but about action. Nature no longer needs our speeches – it needs our actions. The main thing is to remain optimistic and understand that everyone, even alone, can change a lot. Together, we can create miracles."

The report emphasized that environmental protection efforts in Azerbaijan go far beyond biodiversity conservation. National institutions and companies, especially IDEA, work on environmental protection both on land and at sea, with visible results in the expansion and preservation of national parks.

Speaking to Euronews, Arzu Babayeva, deputy head of the Biodiversity Conservation Service at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, said: "There are many environmental problems in the world, such as

biodiversity loss, climate change, and ecological pressure. Now is the time to act. What we do is not for ourselves, but for the world, nature, and future generations."

She noted that the first protected area in the country was created in 1910, and then the network of such areas expanded: "Azerbaijan currently has 12 national parks, nine state nature reserves, and 24 wildlife sanctuaries, which are home to rare and endangered species."

The report also highlighted IDEA's role in reintroducing bison to northern Azerbaijan and protecting the Caspian Sea. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Azerbaijan Director Elshad Asgarov said the Caucasian bison once lived in Azerbaijan and that a reintroduction project began in 2018 using animals with Caucasian bison genes.

Addressing marine pollution, Elnur Safarov, coordinator of the Caspian Integrated Scientific Network (CASPISNET) at the Institute of Geography, said: "Microplastic pollution is one of the other major problems facing the Caspian Sea. A large amount of plastic pollution originates from other countries and is carried to the Caspian coast by currents. A number of measures are being implemented under IDEA's leadership to clean plastic from the Caspian shoreline."

The feature concluded that these environmental threats increasingly raise broader issues of partnership, responsibility, and the future of the planet.